Fatal shooting of Missouri toddler investigated

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) -- The mother of a 3-year-old southwest Missouri girl who was accidentally shot to death says the gun was normally kept locked inside an older sibling's room.

Miranda Doerr died Monday after the shooting in the family's mobile home near Joplin. Miranda and her 6-year-old brother were together in a room where a 20-year-old brother kept the .22 caliber-pistol that killed the girl.

The children's mother, Jennifer Doerr, told the station her husband and 20-year-old son are maintenance workers in the mobile home park and keep guns to protect themselves from dogs. She said the guns are usually kept in locked rooms, but those rooms weren't locked when Miranda was shot.